Wanted: Bike shops for the rest of us
You know why so many people don't have bikes? You know why so many people who do have bikes get cheap crappy bike-shaped objects at Wal-Mart that are hardly ever ridden because they're so awful and fall apart so easily? I'll tell you why.
So-called bike culture is an alien, hostile world to most people, and a lot of that starts at the entry point to bike culture: the bike shop. If your town/neighborhood has only one bike shop and it's run by a cranky old sexist bastard who hates everybody and spews libertarian nonsense while he works (Hyde Parkers know who I'm talking about), then new cyclists won't ever go there, and the poor unlucky ones who do won't ever go back. People buy cheap bikes at Wal-Mart because the employees at Wal-Mart don't treat you like you're a clueless twat if you know that you want a bike but aren't sure what kind, because they don't act like they have much better things to do than wait on a customer who can't afford a custom-built high-performance machine, because they don't impatiently roll their eyes at you if you don't know what the various parts are called, because they aren't so busy bantering about highly technical bike geekery that they don't even notice your presence, because they don't berate you for wasting their precious time attending to the squeaky brakes on your cheap piece of crap, because they don't lecture you about how they really don't specialize in what you're looking for, and because they generally aren't too stoned out of their fracking minds to sell you anything at all.
You all are fine people, but really, you've got to work on your image. If car dealers acted like that, hardly anyone would be driving. Ordinary folks are put off by pretentious bullshit, and if they sense any they'll walk right out the door and make a beeline for the nearest big-box store, if they don't just give up and go home. I say this based on personal experience. Maybe manufacturers really are scrambling like mad to design bikes for noncyclists, but if bike shops won't sell to noncyclists than it won't do any bit of good.
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That was depressing, so here's something nice:
Yes, that's my X-mas tree. Yes, I just took that. Happy, uh, Groundhog Day!
posted by Jennifer @ 5:35 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
This is a common complaint, and one reason I never took to hanging around at bike shops. While I know enough to talk the talk, I don't like the attitudes -- if you don't hobble in on cleats wearing a team outfit, you may as well be invisible. In their defense (not to say they are necessarily defensible), they make most of their money off the hardcore racers who regularly break and buy stuff, so they cater to them. As for your Hyde Park guy, well, cycling tends to attract some eccentrics. We have a few on the North Side, too (regarding one place, another shop owner said, "Oh, you should go there and check it out. It's a trip. But for God's sake, don't let them touch your bike!").
I suggest reading the comments at the Chicago Bike Shop Database site; maybe you'll find a good fit there. For touring, the shops listed in Adventure Cycling's "Cyclist's Yellow Pages" are a good start, but often they have only one touring enthusiast so maybe you should call ahead.
Well, the folks at Rapid Transit seemed friendly and professional and it's a fun ride up Milwaukee from the Loop, so at least for now I've finally found a good place to go for service.
Well said! Not surprising that I would agree with you. Yet I have found some very good bike shops in the D.C. area. It tends to be the ones where the employees are into riding everyday.
You forgot to mention that many of those shops, if they do actually interact with you to sell you a bike, are likely to sell you one that is a) inappropriate for your actual use and b)the wrong size for your comfort.
I say this as head mechanic of a bike shop that I'd like to think is different. We don't cater to the lycra-clad racer set, or the mud-encrusted hardcore mtbers. We do have our own specialties... recumbents and folding bikes... but neither of those lend themselves to the attitudes and atmosphere you write about. We're pretty friendly folk, and do our best to actually listen to what you need, and engage you in conversation... and not just about bikes.
I think it is challenging for "the rest of us" to find a good shop, for the reasons you cite. But they are out there... and I think they are a growing force, as more people are starting to see bikes as more than an expensive toy. Here's hoping.
Uh, oh! You haven't named names, but I'm really hoping you're referring to the *other* shop on 55th and not the one where I work. Although I'm not entirely certain what demographic constitutes "the rest of us"... I opened it last year explicitly because Hyde Park suffers from a decided lack of good shops. In fact, it could really use two or three good shops. And if you *are* referring to mine, please do let me know what you think could use improvement!
Ah, OK. I see the link to the commutebybike blog, so I see what niche you're referring to. So the good news is you're right... domestic brands are really building out their commuter/city offerings, which is great. On the one hand, it will take a while for traditional independent bike shops to really figure out how to market and sell these bikes. Specialty shops like Rapid Transit are one thing, but neighhorhood shops like Arts *should* be selling these bikes hand over fist, right?
But things like low center of gravity, kickstands, chainguards, racks and lights are not really part of either the typical consumer's nor the shop's narrative. Average buyers *do* eventually get religion on these things, but it often takes 6-12 months of riding, and "upgrading"... which is good for the shop, not so great for the consumer.
In any case, down here in Hyde Park... the other rub really is the impact of the secondary markets. We're flush with decent vintage Raleighs and Schwinns courtesy of Working Bikes and Blackstone, which really depresses the market for new commuter bikes like Breezers, Globes, Limes, Amsterdams. On the other hand, if a shop like Rapid or even Kozy's opened up shop down here and really pushed the $4-800 commuter product, they would surely move... but in my opinion, they will mostly go to UofC staff and middle-upper income families in Kenwood/HP/Southshore.
This doesn't address the more general concern about shops that are sensitive to the needs of commuters... understanding the ins and outs of plastic vs metal fenders, dynamo vs battery-driven lights, platform pedals, waterproof bags, Bike Friday vs Dahon, and so on. I do think each of the shops down here have their place, but if these are your concerns... obviously Rapid Transit is the best place in Chicago.
"Uh, oh! You haven't named names, but I'm really hoping you're referring to the *other* shop on 55th and not the one where I work."
Oh, did he move?
Yes, Wheels & Things is on 55th @Kenwood now.
Jennifer, thanks for your words of confidence. At Rapid Transit, we try REALLY hard to dispel the image of bike shops you describe.
I have a post brewing in my head about that very subject. Stay tuned.
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